A traveler who escaped the clutches of a notorious criminal has shared the chilling last words he uttered before she made her getaway.
Robert Ben Rhoades, now 79, earned the moniker the Truck Stop Killer following his conviction for the brutal murders of two couples in Illinois and Texas between 1989 and 1990. He is suspected of heinous crimes against over fifty women from 1975 to 1990, with evidence linking his truck routes to the disappearances of women fitting his victim profile during those years.
Among those who crossed paths with Rhoades, a hitchhiker managed to flee after a close encounter with the killer in the summer of 1985. Author Vanessa Veselka, now 56, recounted her experience with GQ, recalling the moment she witnessed the discovery of a young hitchhiker’s body at a dumpster where she had stopped.
Days later, Vanessa was picked up by Rhoades while traveling south on I-95 through the Carolinas. She described him as taller and slender compared to other truckers, noting his neat appearance in a cotton button-down shirt with rolled-up sleeves.
Unaware of the danger she was in, Vanessa noticed Rhoades becoming evasive during their journey, growing more distant as they traveled along the highway. She described his demeanor as both aloof and unsettling.
The situation escalated when Rhoades brought up a deceased girl, eventually stopping the vehicle and brandishing a hunting knife. Despite being just a teenager at the time, Vanessa managed to escape after the killer gave her a momentary lead, instructing her to move to the back of the cab.
In a tense standoff, Vanessa negotiated her freedom, leading to Rhoades telling her to run as she dashed for safety into the woods, watching his truck depart.
Rhoades evaded capture for a while, with the discovery of skeletal remains in Millard County, Utah, in October 1990 initially leaving the victim unidentified, known only as “Jane Doe 1” for over a decade. It wasn’t until May 2003 that forensic experts identified the victim as 24-year-old Patricia Candace Walsh, who went missing with her husband Douglas Scott Zyskowski in 1989.
Zyskowski’s remains were found in January 1990 in Ozona, Texas, near Interstate 10, with Rhoades confessing to their murders upon his arrest. He admitted to picking up the couple while they were hitchhiking, promptly killing Zyskowski and later subjecting Walsh to unspeakable horrors before ending her life and discarding her body.
Rhoades’ trail of terror extended to numerous other victims, including the murder of Regina Kay Walters in 1994, leading to his imprisonment for life without parole at Menard Correctional Center in Chester, Illinois.
Currently, Rhoades remains incarcerated for life without the possibility of release in a high-security prison.